Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Well talk about trying to cram as much into one post as possible!!!! Here goes.......

Our Creative Corner has a wonderful new challenge this week being "O Christmas Tree". The premise is simple - make a project with a Christmas tree in it!! Woo hoo....can DO.

Enter next cram.....I am soon to be taking approx 22 (give or take) 1st class children (5-6yo) for some Christmas Craft. We are making a Christmas card with inspiration I gained from Leonie Schroder here. This is what I came up with....

Easy enough (hopefully) for the kids to cut/fold/glue together and also satisfying the challenge for OCC. I love the way the tree has a 3D effect.

Also...being the season, I made different versions of the same. Love how you can go to from portrait to landscape without changing dimensions.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

So sorry for the infrequency of blogging, however, at work it has been a tad out of the ordinary. Both of our senior docs ended up in hospital and the other nurse had a nasty bout of ikky reign down upon her, so it has been all hands on deck to cover workloads and keep things afloat.

Once of my darling regular patients celebrated a milestone......91. In her words....every day you get past 90 is a gift...so the ones that come in a 365 day bundle are a PARTY!!! She is a fantastic lady and we share all kinds of stories and mischief when she comes in for her visits.

I had been waiting v v patiently for the Build-a-Blossom stamp set and punch to come out. This was as good an opportunity as any to see what I could do. I had seen this and loved the idea of the black CS. I ran with it and this is what I came up with.

Too much fun!!! Now as you all know I like to do a good bookmark too, and this lady LOVES her books. I was also patiently waiting for the Fun Flowers Bigz L die to be released so I could do similar bookmarks to Dawn Griffiths here. I do not have a Big Shot, but use a lot of the Sizzix dies in my Cuttlebug. I thought I had done enough research and found that I could use the die......WRONG!!!!!!

(skip the next paragraph if you wish to avoid the saga!!)

When using a plain Bigz Die...I just use 2 B plates....and thought this was going to be the same from what I had Googled/You Tubed/ Blog surfed etc. ALAS no!!! I was not to be outdone. I needed something slightly thicker, but still so that only 2 plates went thru the Cuttlebug. I went to Bunnings to get some rubber....as you do....and I must say, I received some v v ODD looks. Found the PERFECT rubber....needed 15cms of it....DOH...only sold in 50cm increments...not gunna happen. Next stop....flooring. I found some 12 x 12 thin (1mm) floor tiles. Three of these on top of each other should have worked a treat. Buoyed by perhaps false hope off I wnent home to try out my theory. WOO HOO.....worked a treat. Went thru no probs and crisp clean cuts....so my Sizzix Bigs L die goes thru my Cuttlebug.

The end result......

I used the colours in the card....and if really wanna be artsy-fartsy about it....the green ribbon is kinda like the stem!!! Here's the gift and card together....

Having so much fun making that card I also made another for the stash with different embossing.

Thanks for dropping by. I WILL be posting some Christmas cards soon. It has rained nearly all week in Sydney, so made it hard to take pics of things.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

I thought I would visit Our Creative Corner again and see if I could do another one of their challenges. This time around it is Pumpkin/Pumpkin Pie Challenge. Thanksgiving is approaching in the USA, so it is to use a pumpkin in your design, or the colour Pumpkin Pie. Either was going to be a challenge for me, because it is a colour I have, but rarely use. Due to my procrastination.....I also missed the deadline!!!! Tui was kind enough to advise me that (purely by good luck and fortune) that the card may also fit THIS weeks OCC challange - Gratitude/Thanksgiving. It had this pic to provide the inspiration.....

I hit my CASE file again and stumbled across this gem from Steph. Now it was back from 2009...so just as well I keep lots of things at the ready!! I got my bits and pieces out and came up with this for the challenge.....

This was such a challenge for me....you have NO IDEA!!! I had the card folded already to stamp, and stamped it the incorrect way....so that the card opened backwards. Solution, I cut the front off it, made it still and then can stick it to another card, or perhaps another project down the track. I even managed to find some Pumpking Pie ric-rac I received as blog candy a LONG time ago. Lends itself tot he scallops/soft edges. Again...it also matches the tones or the Thanksgiving picture.

The image panel is done with Botanical Blooms (SAB '09). The flowers are stamped in Pumpkin Pie and leaves in Soft Suede.

Thanks Steph for the inspiration and thanks to the gals at Our Creative Corner for really getting me out of my comfort box and challenging me no end!!

On a separate note, Andrea has reached a mammoth milestone of 200,000 hits. To thank her readers, she passed on this award.

Now I have to forward this to at least 3 friends who have encouraged me and shown me some blog love too.....so thanks so much to....

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Morning all.
My Mum always told me to thanks a person properly if they did something for you. I had an instance not so long ago that needed such a recognition.

As mentioned in my last post, I have type 1 Diabetes. Every day brings good and bad. I liken it to having a third child, as you have to take care of it, respect it and cohabit with it. If you disrespect it, nasty things can come a knocking. Thankfully for me....the worst of the "nasties" are unexpected hypoglycaemic attacks (low blood sugars). If left untreated these can have serious consequences.

A few weeks back, I was attending my weekly grocery shop. I know many of the gals and guys there, as I cannot often resist the odd chat. I am also a very habitual shopper. These quirks of mine, whilst boring an monotonous, actually rang the alarm bells.

I was nearing the end of my trip going towards the 'cold' section. I felt odd, but nothing I could really call out of the ordinary....or so I thought. One of the girls pulled me aside to see if I was OK. A couple of isles over she noticed me being fidgety and slightly erratic. My shopping trolley was also near empty (unusual for this ways along on my trip). She asked if my diabetes was OK. I took out my kit (and for a fleeting instant realised I could not recall how to test my sugar.....der something was up) and tested. The result was 1.2.......ummmmmmmm VERY LOW indeed. She asked what I needed....we went to the juice isle....raided what we needed and she stayed with me until I was back in "control". I was so v v thankful for her observation and help. They also looked after my trolley whilst I went to the cafe outside to get something to eat and restock my sugar stores.

I wanted to show my appreciation to this wonderful young lady, so I took the opportunity to ink up my new Simply Soft set and bust out my Fun Flowers Bigz L Die. This is what I came up with....

A Card.....

....Matching bookmark.....

....and the 2 together......

I passed this small token of thanks onto her the next week when I saw her. I also wrote a note to the store's manager to let him know of the wonderful staff that he has. She was surprised and touched.

Will be back soon with more fun....and the main story...that accompanies the Fun Flowers Bigz L Die.

Monday, November 14, 2011

I hope you will indulge me a little tangental offering today. As you know, I am a Type 1 Diabetic and today is World Diabetes Day.

If you or someone you love has had a suspicion that something is not "quite right" or if you have a history of Diabetes in your family, why not choose TODAY to ACT ON IT....and get a test or talk to your GP. Sadly, a lot of the population have symptoms of Diabetes (especially Type 2 Diabetes) and do not even know that they are at risk or have it. There is an easy to follow guide from Diabtets Australia here that lists that people that may be at risk and the signs and symptoms of diabetes.

Ironically, I was diagnosed on World Diabetes day and so today celebrate 14 years of living with Type 1 Diabetes.

Thanks for letting me have this little side bar. I promise to resume normal crafting programming next time.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Solution: Through the miracle of the crafting gods, you stumble across a project that fits the bill to a "T".

I was lucky enough to find such a solution here. I had seen these amazing purses about, but one had never really crossed my mind until I stumbled across it. By pure coincidence, I had also purchased some wee notepads to decorate for stocking fillers. Too good!!!!

This is the explosion purse I made for Miss 14 (who happens to be a fan of purple!!)...

....and open.....

I was also lucky enough to find a a shop that sold individual heart shaped chocs that matched the DP perfectly.

Next was the notepad.....

....and the inside.....

I made a template of the cover and then measured the 'gaps' between the centres of the circles, then used a 3/16" circle punch to cut the holes....perfect fit.

Now for the card......I carried through the scallop circled theme from the bag and used it on the card.

...and the set together....

I had so much fun playing with this, I think I may stow it away again for another one of those desperate times. BTW...was a hit with Miss 14 too.....as a further coincidence would have it, she received a pinky purpley shade writing pen from her parents which also matched the notepad perfectly.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Once again I have a bevvy of male cards to share with you. I must admit, these cards kind of came together with partially the luck of the proverbial crafting gods. I had these 2 cards on SCS and liked their simplicity.

Now I love Carte Postale and it is one of my "go to" make sets. I also recalled that I had an embossing folder with fleur-de-lis' on it. Things started coming together nicely. Then the cherry on top...was that I had actually intended to use the REVERSE side of the gold toned DP which was burgandy tones....and coincidence....MORE fluer-de-lis!!! Too cool!!

These are the masculine cards I came up with.....

I kind of like the idea of changing up the DP orientation to change the look of the card. I also had so much fun with these, I did another 2 in green tones....

The other bit of fun was layeringup the Curly Label Punches. Even better was that I managed to line up the dark red stripe right down the middle of the sentiment.

Lastly, i have to make mention of the beautiful texture of the DP used in the 1st cards. It was so good to work with. Added a grand kind of luxury to it all. Pretty impressed that I got to use "old gold" 1/2 pearls and brads on a male card. Wonders will never cease.

Thanks for setting such a great challenge guys. This is the 1st time I have plucked up enough gumption to do one of your challenges...and was so glad I did.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Please excuse my absence for the past 2 weeks. Needless to say life has been on full throttle and there is no time left over to do the "luxuries" needed. I am sure folks out there know what family mania entails!!

Sometime ago I was very fortunate to win some blog candy from the uber talented Michelle Halling. I received the "Sweet Summer" stamp set. It was the only one of this year's SAB sets that I did not get. It didn't really get to me....until I saw some SENSATIONAL things done with it....and then of course kicked myself that I did not get it. Fate is indeed a funny thing.

I had seen this card on SCS and thought I'd give it a crack. At the time I was using a LOT of Baja and Kraft!! This is my CASE of it.....

....and because I have learnt to do one for the stash, but not entirely the same...I did this one as well.....

Ashamedly, I have to admit this is the first time I had used blender pens, and it is an art I have yet to master. I started off with the whole flower in Baja and then darkened the bits at the base with Bashful Blue. The flowers are cut out and mounted on dimensionals.

I do like the way these 2 came out. I will be back soon with another CASE with this set soon.